This past Christmas, I reviewed the 24 Rums which were featured in the 1423 World Class Spirits – 2019 24 Days of Rum Calendar. The reviews were written based upon my my taste impressions from a small (20ml) sample of each rum which was provided in the European edition of that said rum advent. I was also sent larger 50ml samples of each rum in the American version of that same rum advent.
My plan for the New Year is to re-sample each of these rums and re-post each review. These re-posted reviews will be more complete with the scores adjusted slightly based on my impressions from the larger sample.
The first of these re-posted reviews is for the very first rum in the advent, Mount Gay 1703 XO Reserve Cask Rum a wonderful rum from Barbados.
Here is a link to the newly completed full review:
Review: Mount Gay 1703 XO Reserve Cask Rum
Please enjoy the review which now includes a suggested serving, the Aztec Rum Old Fashioned.
Happy New Year Everyone!
1703 is a significant year in the world of rum. That is because this was the year that Mount Gay Rum was first produced on the Isle of Barbados which makes Mount Gay Rum one of the oldest, if not the oldest brand of rum in the world. Because Barbados is situated as a gateway from the Atlantic to the Caribbean, sailors from the Old World often used the island as the first resting point on the way to the New World. This meant Barbados was ideally suited for trade between the two worlds in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Part of that trade was rum which is why the island is considered the birthplace of the rum trade.
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It was in 1910 that the appearance of Haley’s Comet coincided with a total solar eclipse, and this event is said to have inspired Mount Gay to create their Eclipse branded rums. Mount Gay 1703 Eclipse Silver Rum is composed of rum distillate produced from both pot and column still distillation. Although this rum is clear, it has nevertheless been matured in charred white oak barrels, barrels which previously held American whiskey. The lightly aged rum is filtered clear and bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.
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